AGRICULTURE 



in the United States, and our Colonies. That they also thrive in more exposed 

 situations may be seen at Cowley Manor near Birdlip, much of the land being 

 800 ft. above sea level. Of other breeds the Hampshire and Southdown 

 appear to make little headway, and the Shropshire breed is in this county 

 for the most part used for crossing with the Radnor a small breed carry- 

 ing a short fine fleece, which is a favourite with the grassland farmers of the 

 vale. The mutton is of excellent quality, and, being hardy in constitution, 

 the sheep require and receive very little attention. This breed has been a 

 good deal crossed, and the sheep that are sent to the fairs at Gloucester do 

 not exhibit much uniformity. 



While the conversion from arable husbandry of much land that does 

 not at present prices produce wheat at a profit has naturally had the effect 

 of reducing the number of sheep in the county, increased pasturage has 

 been provided for cattle that are in appreciably larger numbers than before 

 the change took place. 



Excepting in the Tewkesbury district, where the Herefords are often 

 met with, the prevailing breed is the Shorthorn, and Gloucestershire prob- 

 ably contains as fine herds of the latter as any county in England. The 

 exhibition of Shorthorn cattle at the annual show of the Gloucestershire 

 Agricultural Society has long been celebrated for its outstanding excellence. 

 A noteworthy incident in connexion with the Shorthorn history of the 

 county was the dispersion of Lord Sherborne's pedigree herd in 1848. 

 Although the sale catalogue included the celebrated cows Jenny Denison and 

 Ruth (by Harold), and other animals whose descendants have since become dis- 

 tinguished, the prices realized were moderate, and Gloucestershire breeders 

 availed themselves of the opportunity to buy. In the list of purchasers are the 

 names, well-known in Shorthorn history, of Colonel (now Sir Nigel) Kings- 

 cote and Messrs. Bowly, Game, Lane, Mace, and Kendall, and there can 

 be no doubt that the diffusion of so many highly descended animals was of 

 great advantage to Lord Sherborne's neighbours. 



At Tortworth in 1853 the great sale of Lord Ducie's herd took place, 

 when sixty-two head totalled 9,361 i6s., an average of i$o 19*. i \d. 

 This occasion is memorable for the contest between the American breeders 

 and the late Colonel Sir Robert Gunter for the ownership of the animals of 

 Mr. Bates's Duchess tribe. Colonel Gunter succeeded in buying a yearling 

 heifer and two heifer calves, for which he paid 1,060 guineas. 



In 1868 and 1869 the herd of Mr. Stiles Rich at Didmarton was 

 dispersed, when 114 animals averaged 70 izs. io</., and in 1873 at 

 Broadmoor Mr. Thomas Game's herd of 101 head averaged 58 ijs. At 

 this sale thirty-two animals of the old Pye tribe averaged over 82. 



Prices continued to rise, and Mr. Edward Bowly had several successful 

 sales at Siddington, the best being in 1875, when thirty animals averaged 

 217 i8j. 8</. In the same year Sir Nigel Kingscote obtained an average 

 of 179 4-f. 8</. for forty head. At the Berkeley sale in 1879 Lord Fitz- 

 hardinge's thirty-two head averaged 147 9-f- io</. This sale was the last 

 in the county where these inflated prices were obtained. The falling values 

 of cereals, the disastrous seasons, which were followed by the loss of 

 thousands of sheep from liver rot, and the general reduction in rents and 

 consequent diminution of the means of landowners, induced something like a 

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